So.... this is my third attempt at writing this! For some reason, my computer keeps deleting my post:( Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Enjoy time spent with family and a tummy full of turkey and pumpkin pie! IF that is what you plan to do! I am looking forward to making my pumpkin cheesecake:) and then of course eating it! So this week has gone by super quick, and while most students were still asleep on Friday, your teachers were in a professional development class and learning how to incorporate new fun and exciting learning techniques! This week for language arts we are learning how to pick out main ideas from what we are reading and then using those ideas to connect to. So, this time while I was reading i was guiding the students to what i thought was important for me to mention when we finished reading. I was modelling the lesson, and eventually students will have to do this for themselves. We then used some of those "idea" i pulled out and connected to them. Most students connected to the fact that Mrs.Williams (the school principal) fell and flashed her flower undergarments to the whole class. So most students used this situation to connect to a time they either fell or were embarrassed. It is a start:) we also learned a new song... but, we have only sang it once in class, so most students if asked, will only remember "grandpa's cow" and "my friend Jo" Here is how the song goes... When i read a story and my brain says, "HEY! This reminds me of the other day!" When i read a story and my brain says, "WHOA! This reminds me of my friend, Jo!" When i read a story and my brain says, "COOL! This reminds me of my school!" When i read a story and my brain says, "LOOK! This reminds me of another book!" When i read a story and my brain says, "WOW! This reminds me of my grandpa's cow!" Its called connect... da da da da da da da da da da For math, we did not have a chance for everyone to present, as 40 minutes can go by super quick! I also allowed students to give peer feedback to one another. We are learning how to give 2 stars and 1 wish to each other. 2 great things they said or did for their project, and 1 way they can improve, add, speak louder, etc. Peer feedback is a great way for students to think critically about what they are seeing and hearing. We will keep working on using proper "feedback" language and to not always give our best friends 2 stars (just because they are best friends) but to help them take their learning further and challenge them to try something new or make something even better. The rest of the math projects will be presented on Tuesday. Also, I will be giving the students another in-class assignment. I would like to stress the "IN- CLASS" as it will be worked on during the time after they have finished their class work. This way i can also assess where my students are with their mathematical concepts and thinking strategies. I love parental contribution and i believe it is so important for parents to encourage and be part of their child's education, but having them complete it in class allows them to be forced to learn specific concepts of gathering and presenting information they collected. The new math project will be similar to what they just accomplished. They need to gather information about one cat and one dog. How much do they cost from a shelter or from a pet store. Then find toys, food, etc and compare which animal would be the better choice to purchase. Please find the attached rubric under "Extra Extra" section. In Socials, we are looking at "New France" and what area of North America was then sectioned as New France. Within the next few weeks, we will be examining the interactions between the First Nations and the European settlers. How did that cause conflict and cooperation. In P.E. we started on volleyball! I love Volleyball and i have played the sport many times within my life, and I coached the grade 6/7 team last year at the Middle school. I hope my love of volleyball will transfer to my students as well. : P On Thursday we visited Mountain View Home, and students shared their writing samples and their "I am Thankful for.. " sheet. Some residents were asleep whereas others were very engaged and excited to see the kids. I am sure most had fun and enjoyed themselves. Our field trip on Wednesday October 12th will be to McMillan Farms. We will explore what a settlement would look like and how European settlers might have lived. Students will experience a hay ride, play with farm animals, explore the corn maze and enjoy an apple treat and take home a small pumpkin. I will be driving the activity bus and only have room for my students. Parents are welcome to come as long as you have completed a criminal record check with the school. Also, it is $3 extra per parent to join. Payable to the farm. Thats all for now:)..... P>S. Please sign your childs "Friday Letter" booklets, as it counts towards their homework marks. Thanks.
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YAY another week has gone by. And we all survived!
When we come back it will already be October! I love October, the beautiful fall colours, pumpkins, pumpkin cheesecake, leaf art ideas, cooler weather, Turkey dinners, Thanksgiving and more time with family!!! This week we worked on finding topic sentences, juicy details in the middle and a conclusion. We also read Mr. Terupt and talked about the theme "change" How are the characters changing? How are their relationships changing between friends? and how is Mr. Terupt fostering change in the classroom? Another great thing we are doing in Language Arts is talking about connections. We talk about making connections with that we read. Text to text, text to self and text to world. Today we read "Chester's Way" and while we were reading students were thinking of things within the book they could connect to. It was a great story about change, friendships, trying new things and connecting with others. Ask your child about it. Next week we will continue to look at the "change" theme in Mr. Terupt and connections throughout all our subjects. We also have photo day on Monday- i told my students to dress nice and have their hair done. :) There is no school on Friday, the teachers are having another Professional Development day. We honestly do learn so much from these development days. Last week we had Faye Brownlie join us! that was great! There have been a few cases of lice in our classroom and a few more within the school. Please be diligent in checking your child's hair the next few weeks, just to be on the safe side. On October 12th we will be going on a class field trip to McMillan Farms. We will be connecting our field trip with social studies and look at the way that settlers may have lived once they settled in Canada. WE will also get to experience the hay ride, corn maze, slingshot, eat apples and choose a pumpkin. Parents are invited, but must have their own transportation as there are only 24 seats in our KCS bus. Also there is an extra $3 cost per parent to join the activities. Please email me if you plan to attend. Thank you. In my math class, students have a weekly assignment they will be working on. It involves using critical thinking, real world problem solving, and hands on information collecting. They will be doing the regular math program and these assignments are supplementary to that. On Monday the students have a quiz in math regarding: numerals, written and expanded form, numbers and words, and base ten model representation of the numbers. Today for art, we took a stroll around KCS grounds and collected samples of leaves. When we returned to the classroom i showed students examples of animals which were created from leaves. So we had students make owls, dogs, zimba, fish, and much more! I have included some pictures of students working and if you would like to see it in person, i have posted them outside of our classroom:) That's all folks! Stay tuned for next weeks post. P.S. i will be sending a questionnaire to your emails sometime next week, a chance for you to share your thoughts. :) Have a great weekend! Happy Friday parents.
We had a good end to our week :) we watched Secret life of Pets in our PJs- we had some technical difficulties, so we did not get to finish, but maybe I will show it to them during the time they are eating lunch! There is not much to mention from this week, Here are a few things: The spelling test on Friday went well, please try to spend some time quizzing your child about the spelling words. We always have time in class to work on our spelling words, but more practice always is better. I will post the spelling words on this website, under Extra Extra!, for your convenience. Please remember of the pro-d day on Monday, there are no classes for students. We teachers still have to go to "school" aka. Professional Development Classes. Photo day is coming up on October 3rd and 4th. A reminder will be sent home on Friday, in the students "Friday letters home." Dear parents (guardians)
It was great meeting some of you (again) on Thursday. Thank you for taking the time to come view my presentation and learn about our class community. The powerpoint presentation is on my website under "extra extra!" page. Our second week of school went well. Students are getting comfortable with the class expectations and getting to really know each other. This week each student put together a brown paper bag with five items for Social Studies. We are starting to learn about the First Nations of Canada and how Anthropologists and Historians gathered their information. So the "artifacts" they brought in were to tell a story of who they are. Students took notes of what each "artifact" may represent. Such as, if someone packed a hockey puck, it could mean they like hockey or in general they like sports. Going further, it might mean that they are energetic and love to be active. Once they had time to explore, we guessed whose artifacts they received from class. Even though students have previously been together in the same class, some since kindergarten, they had trouble finding the owners of the brown bag artifacts. it was a good exercise. Next week, on September 22nd is the first day of fall. So, on Friday during art we painted fall trees using our fingerprints! Getting messy and getting ready for fall:) Lots of fun! We had our first chapel of the school season. wow! it was sooo full of energy and amazing to have shared this experience with my students. This coming week we will have a new student join our class, her name is Taylor and she was born in the USA. She has only been in Kelowna for two weeks! On Tuesday we have a math test and on Thursday we will be switching math classes. Your child(ren) will either be with myself of Ken Fell. Each student has a class job. This helps teach them responsibility and keep our class running smooth and keep it clean. Ask your child what their class job is. We keep updating the "wall of happiness", always adding to our wall of "I wonder" and keep adjusting our goals to fit where each individual is at the current time. On Friday the 23rd, we have a School Spirit day and all students are kindly asked to wear their pajamas to school!!! comfy and cozy. And i am definitely going to be dressed up:) Please take a moment to read your child's Friday Letter and initial once you've read it. Thank you. This year my goal is to work with my students to better their writing skills. One of the activities we will complete in class is called "Friday Letters to Parents."
On our last day of the week (depending on Holidays and Pro-D days) the students will brainstorm and try to remember what their week was like at school. I hope that by informing you with what we did during the week in the classroom will eliminate the answer of "nothing" to the question, "What did you do in school today?" As well as assisting in their writing skills, you as the parents will be informed of upcoming events, daily activities and be part of their daily class life. Their letters will be written in a blue lined paper book. Please initial the book once you have read their letters. The awesome part i am most looking forward to is seeing their growth in their writing skills as the year goes on. :) If your child did not write anything about the extra "idea" these would be a great conversation started about our class so far. :) Below is a copy of what their letters say: Dear Mom and Dad This week was my first week of grade 4. It went well. This week we learned that Mrs. Steele has a website. Her website is: www.mmsteelegrade4.weebly.com We have gone over classroom rules. They are posted on the website. Please remember gym strip for next week, and indoor shoes. Also, we are a nut free school. On September 15th we have a welcome back BBQ. 5pm-7:30pm Scholastic book orders due 15th of September. Spelling test on September 16th. ***some students included 3 or more*** Art classes with Mrs. Steele Baskets at the front for organization Soccer for P.E. & joined DPA Good first week Buddies in grade 1 Access to Alley for recess Zimba Hello and welcome to my website. I mentioned to my students that this website is open to them to read and explore and to please share it with their parents.
Last year i wrote down daily homework, not sure if i will be able to continue that practice, and i am not sure how beneficial it will be for a grade 4 student. I will however, post important due dates and important events! I will do my best to keep it current and up to date. Well, the first day came and is gone now (for the students at least-i am still in class writing this blog) and it was so wonderful meeting all my students. Some remember me from when i was a TOC two years ago, for all others, i am a new face! I know we will have a great year! I am so excited for this coming year! i will attach a link below that will take you to my classroom expectations powerpoint. It goes over some of the items we discussed in class today. You can ask your child what they remember from it. Click the link below. Please remember that hot lunch is due, if you require assistance, i can assist you and so can Mrs. Campbell at the front office. I am reachable through email most of the time. I will do my best to respond within 12 hours- but most likely within a few minutes (depending on external factors) Thank you for taking the time to read this blog:) See you at the Meet and Greet BBQ on September 15th, 2016. |
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